The present invention relates to ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymers having high syndiotacticity, to moldings and to laminates.
Ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (hereinafter abbreviated as EVOH) is a thermoplastic resin having excellent resistance to gas permeation, oil and solvent, and perfume retention, which is used for various packages, sheets, containers and so on.
EVOH is obtained by saponification of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer obtained by the solution polymerization method. However, EVOH obtained as described shows drastic change of impact-resistance and Young's modulus according to external moisture and temperature, and also high moisture-dependency of its resistance to gas permeation. While laminates comprising EVOH as an intermediate layer have recently been used for containers for retorting, EVOH shows decrease of resistance to gas permeation upon retorting.